The Relentless School Nurse: The Blessing of a Snow Day

New Jersey, like much of the Northeast, was walloped by a bombogenesis, which happens when conditions are ripe for a snowstorm to collide with a hurricane. To quote JC of WeatherNJ, we had a “Kaboom!” event. The world came to a screeching halt as the massive storm dumped snow, mixed with unimaginably cold temperatures and high winds.

One positive among a lot of negatives was experiencing the blessing of a snow day. Snow days bring out the inner kid in all of us. No matter how many decades we have lived, it is fun to anticipate the possibility of an unexpected day off! I watched brand-new school nurses, rejoicing in the possibilities of a snow day on social media. Who knew the ritual of putting a spoon under your pillow symbolizes a shovel to dig yourself out of the snow? I saw pictures of school nurses who are also moms putting on their pajamas backward with their own kids to bring on the snow day.

Stopping and taking the time to exhale is one blessing of a snow day. How often do we, as school nurses really get the time and space to do nothing? I tried it out over this unexpected break and even had a dream about retirement. I spent some of my time off doing NOTHING and I liked it! Of course, let me preface this by saying that my children are grown and adulting outside of our home, my hubby is pretty self-sufficient (for the most part) and my cat, Rocky loves me most around feeding time. It was a very interesting experiment, one that I will be reflecting upon for my own personal next steps.

I did come back to reality, maybe with a renewed sense of perspective after disconnecting from electronics, resting my brain and making a conscious decision to do NOTHING for a period of time. It has been a helpful experiment for me, I was beginning to feel like I was on a meteor hurtling towards earth, trying to juggle so many work and non-work responsibilities. Somehow two snow days and a weekend later, I feel renewed and rejuvenated. I hope that feeling lasts when I return to school tomorrow, but I will soon find out!

Advertisements

Share on Social Media:

Like this:

Related

Published by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN

Robin Cogan MEd, RN, NCSN is a Nationally Certified School Nurse, currently completing her 17th year in the Camden City School District. Robin holds leadership positions on the New Jersey State School Nurses Association Executive Board as well as with the NJ Department of Education Preschool Nurse Advisory Board. She has been recognized locally and nationally for her community-based work, including the 2017 Johnson & Johnson School Nurse of the Year and the NJ Department of Health 2017 Population Health Hero Award. Robin serves as Faculty in the School Nurse Certificate Program at Rutgers-Camden School of Nursing where she teaches the next generation of school nurses.
View all posts by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN